Bipolar
by Flipper Boid Skua
Summary: Final one to my Whisper trilogy. Summary's inside, as always. R&R please!
1. Broken Dreams

Disclaimer: I don't own Happy Feet. So don't look at me! Instead, look at how this disclaimer thing is in the center of the screen! Ha! You got distracted!

Summary: Takes place shortly after Whisper's death. Tourniquet hangs with her new skua friends in loads of adventures and games and Antarctic dangers. But when Tourni finds out the truth, a chain of events left her and her friends on the other side of the world. And a mysterious someone pays a little visit. Can Tourni and the gang ever get back home? And who's this impossibly familiar visitor?

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Part 3 

Chapter 1

All is peaceful above a beautiful landscape of ice and newly formed snow on the ground. It is late afternoon and there isn't a single noise in the air.

"Weeeee!"

Well, now there is.

A flock of skuas zoomed pass the scene, bringing with them, more peace breaking.

"Let's go faster!" Tourniquet yelled in delight. She was riding on the back of the large banded bird in the lead, Seifer. The skua smiled and dove sharply through the air.

The baby Emperor screamed, her eyes wide in excitement. Behind Seifer, three other skuas followed. The sea birds were gang companions, befriending Tourniquet after her mother was killed by some local orcas. However, the little penguin knew nothing of the death and everyone preferred to keep it that way, at least until she gets older.

Seifer spun like a feathered top, enjoying this ride himself. His buds, Dino, Vinni, and Frankie, flattened their dive as they neared the ground. Seifer, however, didn't pull up until the last millisecond.

He flew back into the sky and the four birds circled the snow cloud that was brought up. Tourniquet giggled at the sight. It was hard to believe that not too long ago, her skua friends might have well be her biggest predator. Although they did save her a few times in the past, they also tried their luck at hunting her.

Before, Tourniquet started to feel caution in their presence, but now she loved being around them, each play session promising a big adventure. She stayed with them from dawn to dusk…or at least until her leopard seal caretaker, Rojas tells her enough's enough.

Tourniquet scanned the ice below and found something particularly interesting: a hole to the water. She smiled. Although she nearly drowned once before, she would love to swim. It was one of her biggest dreams; along with learning how to fly and figuring out how to find her Heartsong.

Now's the perfect chance to fulfill on of her dreams.

"I want down, Seifer. I want down." She said.

"No prob kid. Hang on." The skua replied. He and the others flew towards the ground, but then noticed the hole. Tourniquet stood up quickly and tried to jump in, but she wasn't fast enough.

Frankie caught her tail in his beak.

"Aww." Tourniquet protested. Frankie flew her a little ways away from the water before setting her down. The skuas landed and surrounded her, spreading their wings to keep her from making a run for the pool.

"No fair! There more you than me!" she said, trying to get pass.

"Sorry, Touinaquet. No can do. Rojas said dat you're not allowed in da water till you're big enough." Vinnie told her. Tourniquet tried again to get pass before giving up, finally sitting on the ice, looking at her feet.

"Still no fair." She muttered. The skuas furled their wings and sat down, confident that Tourniquet was through with her attempts. The baby penguin stared at each of them. It was very easy for her to distinguish the four seabirds.

Seifer was the easiest to recognize as he had a strange yellow band on his leg. Tourniquet was very curious about it, but she never tried to ask why it was there and how he got it. But besides that, Seifer was brown and was the leader of the group. Personally, she like him the most.

Vinnie is a golden colored skua and Tourniquet regards him as the fun loving member of the group. He's the most willing to play any game she comes up with and always make jokes and always had stories to tell.

Dino was considerably dark in color than the others, having almost black feathers. He was the bird Tourniquet always kept a high respect for, as he's the most aggressive and tends to get violent when angry.

And Frankie is what she notices as the average skua. This whitish bird is not at all hostile like Dino, but at the same time, he's not a push over either. Only when he's hungry will he get edgier than normal, considering he's the lowest ranked of the gang.

"Why can't I swim?" she asked. Her answer was simple.

"You're not supposed to. Rojas made dat very clear." Dino explained.

"But why?" she pushed on. She wasn't at all hindered by the last accident she had in water. And besides, she's a bit older now…about a week older, but still older! She can handle it!

The skuas looked at each other briefly. How could they explain she's still too young, and that there would be things in there that will be more than happy to bite her head off. Or maybe it's best not to hide it.

"You're still a chick." Seifer muttered.

"You're not waterproof." Frankie continued.

"And you'll get eaten by horrible monsters!" Vinnie finished in an attempt to scare the idea out of her. It worked and she quickly dropped the subject. Instead, she can fulfill another dream.

She stood up and the skuas, thinking that she was still going to bolt to the water, followed her lead and blocked the way.

However, Tourniquet just started to do this weird….ritual. It consisted of jumping, flapping her flippers, falling back down and sliding a bit, getting back up and repeating the procedure. They looked at her in confusion.

"If I can't swim, teach me to fly!" she said. Startled, the seabirds cocked their heads and looked at each other. After a moment, they laughed.

Tourniquet stopped and looked at them. "What so funny?"

Seifer calmed down enough to explain. "I hate to break it to ya, kid….but Flipper Boids can't fly."

Tourniquet was shocked. She never knew that. Because although she never saw a flying penguin, she thought that penguins had to learn the ability. She had no idea they were completely incapable of it.

But she had to learn why. She knew she was a bird and so were the skuas. So how is it that they can fly and she can't?

Her friend picked up on the problem.

"We'll make dis nice and simple. Look at your wings…" Seifer ordered. Tourniquet looked good and hard, as if it was the first time she noticed it. "…Now look at ours."

All four skuas spread their wings in full view. Tourniquet noticed two major differences: Their wings were large in comparison to hers. And they had these long stiff flight feathers.

Now she knew. Her wings were puny and had no big feathers…and she knew by observation that none will grow. With a defeated sigh, she sat down and so did her friends.

"So if I can't swim…and I can't fly…then what can I do?" she asked hopelessly.

"You can walk." Vinnie answered with a grin. Tourniquet smiled a little. She's starting to feel better already. A few moments of relaxing silence went by.

"Now…" Seifer started, getting up onto his feet. "It's startin to get dark. We should take yous back home."

Tourniquet looked at the setting sun. She was surprise how time went by so fast. She nodded and stood. Seifer lowered down so the penguin could get on. She climbed up and clung tightly as they flew off towards the beach.

She was getting sleepy anyways.

* * *

The start of the last story of the trilogy…I honestly never thought I would come this far…Please R&R!!! 


	2. Home

Disclaimer: I don't own Happy Feet. I'm not smart enough to…

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Part 3

Chapter 2

Rojas had just finished munching on a chinstrap penguin when he saw familiar shapes in the darkening horizon. Tourniquet and her friends were finally returning home. The leopard seal smiled, making no attempt to hide the remains.

Tourniquet was used to him eating seals, but not penguins. The carcass was beyond recognition though. She won't be able to tell the difference.

The skuas landed roughly on the rocky shore and Tourniquet hopped off. She immediately ran up to Rojas and hugged his muzzle in a happy greeting. She completely ignored the chewed up body.

"Welcome back Dumpling." He said. He nudged Tourniquet and she ran hurriedly towards the water. But she knew better than to even attempt to splash with her caretaker nearby.

The seal turned to followed her, but looked back at the skuas. They were eyeing the remains hungrily. Rojas smiled.

"Help yourselves. I'm done with it." He told them. They immediately swarmed on body as the leopard seal pulled himself towards the sea.

Rojas and the skuas has a certain….'relationship'. Rojas allows them to scavenge off his kills and also, by hunting adult penguins, unwittingly provides them with unguarded chicks. In return, these four birds offer Tourniquet some protection and serve as playmates.

After taking Tourniquet into their den, she immediately plopped herself on the plant bed. She spread herself out, trying to take up as much room as she could so Rojas couldn't go on.

He smirked at her attempt.

"That's my spot." He told her. She smiled playfully and spread out even more. She was so tiny against the pile of kelp that the seal couldn't help but chuckle. He picked her up in his jaws and laid down.

At being freed, Tourniquet tried in vain to push Rojas off. The predator only watched her efforts in amusement. He was too large and heavy to be moved by a tiny baby penguin that barely weighs two pounds.

Tourniquet exhausted herself and stopped. After a quick breather, she clamped her beak on his flipper. Rojas couldn't even feel the bite and he smiled.

"Me take you on! Grrr." Tourniquet said quite cutely, yanking at the limb. Rojas shook her loose. She got up and tried to bite the flipper again. However, it kept moving away and out of her reach. She chased it.

"C'mon! First one pinned down has to sleep outside!" she dared. Rojas grinned and easily pinned her in front of him with his flipper. Finding herself under her target, she struggled uselessly, but it didn't last long.

She looked up at Rojas with big glistening eyes. It was her begging look, a face that can melt the heart of even the toughest predator. Rojas couldn't help but widen his grin.

"Let me up." She whined in an extra cute voice. Rojas removed his flipper, which Tourniquet instantly pinned. To her surprise, the flipper didn't even struggle. But still…

"Yay! I win!" she said excitedly.

"Did the skuas teach you that?" Rojas asked her. Nothing against that, but Tourniquet gotta learn these tricks from somewhere. Tourniquet looked up at him, hugging the limb she held captive.

"Sometimes…maybe….I dunno…" she told him, still very cutely. Rojas chuckled and nuzzled her side. She instantly started giggling. "Stop it! That's my tickle spot!"

"I know." Rojas responded. Tourniquet continued to giggle until she managed to get away.

She hugged his muzzle and the seal lifted his head while the little penguin continued to cling on.

"Guess what I did today." She said, climbing on the top of his head.

"What?" he replied as she slid down the back of his neck.

"No. Try to guess."

Rojas rolled over onto his back and watched as she ran in circles on his chest. He made a thinking look, playing along with her little game. After a pause, he finally spoke. "I give up."

Tourniquet smiled as she sat down. "I did something." She wagged her tail.

Rojas smiled back, finding her behavior amusing. "And what did you do?"

Tourniquet was quiet, playing with her feet. She looked up at the ceiling as she rocked back and forth in thought. Rojas chuckled at her memory. Tourniquet's personality, plus the fact that she's a chick, made her usually forget things quite easily and she probably won't remember anything that happens before breakfast.

That's another cuteness trait.

"Now I remember…I flew." She stood up and twirled, flapping her flippers. Rojas paused, tilting his head in confusion. Flew? What did she mean by that? She sat back down. "Seifer gives me ride."

Rojas nodded, understanding. He knew that Seifer always offers Tourniquet a ride. He just actually thought that the skuas did the impossible and taught her how to fly on her own. That would be a sight to see.

"Me and Mr. Flipper have to sleep outside now."

Rojas smiled. "Maybe some other night. Right now, it's time to sleep."

Tourniquet yawned and nodded. "Kay. Nighty night."

"Good night."

Tourniquet tucked herself under Rojas' head and they both fell asleep happily.

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Another chappy. I just hopes someone finds my story and reviews. 


	3. Late

Disclaimer: I don't own Happy Feet. I'm not smart enough to…

* * *

Part 3

Chapter 3

The next morning, Tourniquet woke up first. As with every morning, she practiced her preening as best as she could. She wasn't very good at it yet.

"You missed a spot." A newly awaken Rojas said behind her.

"Where?" she asked, looking herself over.

"I'll take care of it." Rojas licked the back of her neck, also nibbling at the down gently to rid her of even the most determined parasites.

"Thanky." She muttered when he was done. Rojas grunted with a slight nod and picked her up and transported her quickly to the beach above. However, unlike all the other days, the skuas weren't anywhere to be seen. The seal and penguin searched the sky for them.

Nothing.

"Where are they?" Tourniquet asked. Rojas paused, still searching.

"I'm not sure. But we'll wait here until they come." He told her. But he couldn't help asking himself, What if they'll never come? What if something bad happened and Tourniquet will lose more friends and family?

He just hoped they were on their way…

---

Seifer, Frankie, Vinnie, and Dino scanned the colony of gentoo penguins. The colony contained thousands, maybe even millions, of individuals, stretching far beyond the horizon, which was starting to brighten.

"Each of dem Flipper Boids has 2 eggs. Dat means dat da four of us can have as much as we can carry. Ya know what to do." Seifer said. All four of the birds took off and targeted an unlucky penguin near the edge of the rookery.

The mother-to-be was arranging her two eggs when all of a sudden, Frankie and Dino started to harass her. She tried to fend off the two, but while she was distracted, Seifer and Vinnie both grabbed an egg and took off.

Their job done, the other 2 followed, leaving the parent staring in shock at an empty nest.

The skuas flew to their perch and set the eggs down.

"Okay. Now youse 2 get your breakfast. Vinnie, provide da distraction. I'll watch our lil prizes here, capiche?"

The three skuas went off. But their next target was an experienced bird, and it kept an eye on all three of them. Getting impatient, Dino lunged forward from behind, gripped the brushy tail in his beak and he pull hard with such a force, that it practically dragged the surprised penguin right off the nest.

Vinnie, having faster reflexes than his lighter companion, grabbed in egg for Frankie and Dino scrambled to the front and took his prize before the enraged Flipper Bird could recover. They took off, despite the loud protests made by the penguin and it's neighbors.

Now that they each had an omelet, they began to eat, pecking holes into the shells and lapping up the yolk. Once done, they went for more. They were so caught up in their feast that they failed to notice the time.

---

It was late morning and Tourniquet was still waiting patiently for her friends. Rojas was just as patient, but was starting to think that the birds would never come.

So he was surprised when Tourniquet suddenly bounced up and pointed a flipper high in the sky.

"They're coming! They're coming! They're finally here!" she exclaimed excitedly. Rojas smiled as each skua made a really clumsy landing before them. They seemed out of breath as if they flown here as fast as they could.

"Where were you?" Tourniquet asked. The birds caught their breath.

"Sorry we're late. We got held up at breakfast." Seifer explained.

"What happened?" Tourniquet continued. Rojas was wondering the same thing.

Vinnie smiled. "It was an all-you-can-eat buffet, and we couldn't resist."

Tourniquet giggled and ran to Seifer.

"I'm going to climb that." She said, bounding towards the rocky slope. Seifer and the other skuas smiled. "Lookie."

"We're watchin." Dino told her as she tried to go up the slope. She looked back at them and waved. The birds nodded and she continued.

"She's a cute kid. Even for a Flipper Boid." Seifer said to Rojas, who agreed with a nod.

"So, let me guess…you all found the gentoo colony I told you about?" the seal said. The skuas grinned and nodded eagerly.

"It took us nearly da whole night, but we found em." Seifer explained.

"It was woith da effort." Frankie said.

"And da sleep." Vinnie muttered.

"It was all good." Dino finished. Rojas smiled.

"Well, I know that you'll be migrating to another nesting spot, like you always do at this time. Should I expect you to be gone for a while?" he asked. The skuas exchanged looks. They knew Rojas doesn't want them to leave this year.

"No. Not this time. Food here is far from scarce." Seifer answered coolly. "And da Flipper Boid is another reason for us to stay."

"Hey!" Tourniquet yelled from half way up the slope. "Can you see me?"

"Yeah. We'll be up dere in a sec." Seifer called back.

"Kay!" Tourniquet responded before continuing her climb. Seifer looked back at Rojas.

"So….any new ruled or goals or whatnot?" he asked. The leopard seal paused to think for a moment. He looked at the penguin chick and seem to consider something before finally answering.

"Give her a one minute swimming lesson." He told them.

"Got it. One minute. No longer dan dat."

With that, the skuas flew off towards Tourniquet while Rojas went off to look for lunch.

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You want next chapter, then review! It'll come faster if you do….please…. 


	4. A Minute Lesson

Disclaimer: I don't own Happy Feet. I'm not smart enough to…

Finally somebody reviewed! Thank you Jc! I'm glad your liking this thing so far!

* * *

Part 3

Chapter 4

Tourniquet stopped her efforts to scale the slope as each skua landed beside or behind her.

"Hello." She greeted before resuming. "Race you to the top."

She scurried off as fast as she could go. The skuas looked up to see how much of the slope was left, smiled, and took off.

Tourniquet spotted them and instantly jumped up and clung to Vinnie's chest. The skua staggered with the unexpected extra weight and squawked in surprise as the little penguin climbed onto his back.

Vinnie continued to protest as Tourniquet clambered over his head and jumped towards Seifer, who was in the lead. She grabbed his tail feathers in her beak and he was jerked upright.

"Touinaquet!" he yelled as she climbed up to his head. She saw that the finish line was a merely leap away. She jumped, certain of victory. But suddenly, Dino shot by and grabbed her in his beak.

"No!" Tourniquet yelled as the dark skua flew away from her target. Frankie landed, being the only one who was unaffected by Tourniquet. Seifer landed a close second, followed by Vinnie.

Dino tossed Tourniquet high into the air above the other. He landed and caught the baby penguin gently, then settled her down. That made her last place.

She threw a fit.

"That's no fair! You all cheated! I don't like you anymore! I'm never talking to you again!" she exclaimed. She turned her back on them, sat down, crossed her wings, and made a cute little 'hmph'.

The skuas knew how to react to this. It's happened before. They waited a minute, then smiled.

"Hey." Seifer greeted casually. Tourniquet turned, smiled sweetly, and wagged her tail.

"Hi." She responded as if nothing happened. The skuas couldn't help but chuckle. Tourniquet's short attention span never gets old.

"Wanna play wit us?" Seifer continued to ask. Tourniquet nodded and stood up. Seifer lowered himself, a signal for Tourniquet to hop on. The little penguin clambered aboard and clung tight as the birds took to the air.

"Where we going?" she asked Seifer smiled.

"You'll find out soon. Till den, just chill." He told her. She giggled and looked down. She loves watching the land below zoom by.

After half an hour, she saw the ice and snow thin out, and then caught sight of weird seals littering a dry beach. Weird, because hey walked. WALKED!!! With their flippers!

"Oooo." She awed at these new things. She never seen them before. Seifer chuckled.

"They're foi seals." He told her. Tourniquet smiled, examining the new creatures. The skuas landed amongst the seals near a tide pool. Seal pups were playing in the water, playing absolutely no mind to their visitors.

"Why we here?" Tourniquet asked as she got off Seifer. The skuas smiled.

"Yous got one minute." Seifer said, gesturing towards the water. Tourniquet looked at the pool, then at the birds.

"For what?" she asked, not getting a hint. The seabirds laughed.

"Ya always wanted to swim, but when you finally can, you have no idea what we're talking about!" Frankie said. Tourniquet tilted her head, not understanding. The skuas stopped laughing, realizing the full extent of her cluelessness.

Seifer nodded at Dino. "Gently."

The dark skua nodded back and softly pushed Tourniquet towards the water with his wing. She stepped in with hesitation.

"You got one minute to swim." Dino said. Tourniquet looked up at him.

"How?" she asked. Dino picked her up by the tail and laid her back down belly first into the water. He let her go.

"Flap your flippers and kick."

Tourniquet followed these instructions. It was awkward at first, but she quickly got the hang of it. She laughed in delight. "I'm doing it! I'm doing it!"

After a carefully timed moment, Dino picked her back up and settled her next to him. Tourniquet shivered. It's a bit colder here than back home and the breeze wasn't helping much. She shook herself, the flung under Dino's warm body with her rear still in the open.

The skuas chuckled quietly when Tourniquet wagged her tail. They waited until the young penguin felt warm and dry enough to come back out.

"Can I go again?" she asked eagerly.

The skuas looked at each other, unsure of what they should say. Seifer shrugged and the skuas huddled, muttering and occasionally looking up to check on Tourniquet.

"Rojas said to give her a one minute lesson. But he didn't say whether multiple lessons was okay." Vinnie stated the problem.

"He said A minute lesson. So dat clearly means one lesson only." Frankie told them. Dino shook his head.

"A minute lesson just means dat each is one minute. So it's poifectly alright to give her another chance." He opposed. It was Frankie's turn to shake his head.

"No. A minute lesson means one lesson of one minute."

Seifer and Vinnie rolled their eyes and sighed as the other two argued over the logic. They looked at Tourniquet, who was patiently waiting.

"Sorry. We're not sure. We'll ask later. But we're goin to play safe." Seifer broke out the bad news. Tourniquet nodded in disappointment. She climbed onto Seifer, who went up to Frankie and Dino and ended their bickering by batting them upside the head.

They yelped in surprise as Tourniquet giggled.

"C'mon. We have some fun to take care of."

With that, they went off for some games.

* * *

I'm gonna resume what I did to the first story and add previews to the end of each chapter. My cousin suggested I do that to help get more reviews. Back up her theory and please review!

Preview:

Sleep-over with the skuas! And the birds get a real shocker to learn one important thing.


	5. Sleep Over

Disclaimer: I don't own Happy Feet. I'm not smart enough to…

I want reviews...

* * *

Part 3

Chapter 5

At the end of the day, the skuas reported back to Rojas, who was chillin, watching the sunset. He sighed and smiled at Tourniquet.

"Can I spend the night with them?" the little chick asked after giving the seal a hug. She put on her begging face.

Rojas chuckled softly, looking at the skuas. They pointed at Tourniquet.

"It was her idea." They mouthed. Rojas nodded at them, then looked at the penguin before him.

"Have fun." He said simply.

"Yay!" Tourniquet exclaimed, bouncing up and down. She gave Rojas another hug before running off in excitement.

"Ain't you skuas getting old for this?" Rojas asked. The skuas looked at him in shock.

"Whacha mean?" Vinnie asked. Rojas studied the sea birds.

"How old are you?" he asked.

"Seifer's 13. Da rest of us are 10." Dino answered. Rojas nodded, then grinned quite evilly.

"Skuas only live for 11 years." He informed.

The skuas squawked in genuine surprise. Seifer actually backed up, tripped on a rock, and fell on his tail feathers. All 4 had eyes and beaks wide open.

Rojas laughed in amusement.

"11 years?!" Seifer asked loudly. Rojas nodded. The banded skua shook his head, gasping heavily. "How can dat be?"

"We only have a year to live!" Frankie yelled. They began panicing. Seifer got up on his feet and faced the other three, throwing his wings straight up in the air.

"At least you all have a year to expect! I can go down at any moment! I won't be able to sleep tonight! I might not wake up!"

Rojas laughed even harder. Their reactions to lifespan was hilarious.

Horribly shaken, the skuas took to the air towards Tourniquet. Seifer was so frightened, he was shaking convulsively, expecting to fall dead now that he knew the truth. The other's were whimpering pitifully.

But they acted normal when they landed in front of Tourniquet.

"C'mon. Let's go." Seifer said with a smile as Tourniquet climb on. They flew off.

---

"Wow…" Tourniquet muttered as the landed on a ledge half-way up a cliff. There was a crevice big enough for all five, plus more.

The little penguin looked down the ledge. The sea water thrashed itself violently on the rock wall a few hundred feet below.

Dino pulled her away to keep her from accidentally falling down. The skuas had pretty much calmed down to normal, the lifespan thing now a cold accepted truth.

"You live all the way out here?" Tourniquet asked. The skuas smiled and nodded. "Then you fly back to me?"

"Yup." Vinnie said. Tourniquet smiled, admiring them. They must have a lot of patience to fly back and forth every day.

Frankie nudged Tourniquet towards the small cave and they all settled in. Tourniquet nuzzled herself under Seifer. The skuas smiled at her. She looks so cute…

"Tell me a story." She said to Vinnie. He always had a story to tell, real or make believe. The golden skua nodded with a smile.

"Alright, I got one. It's bout a Flipper Boid, kind of like yous but more grown up. She had a friend, a type of Flying Boid called a light-mantled sooty albatross. They always stayed together, inseparable. Will do anytin for each other, right?"

Tourniquet nodded quickly, showing she understood everything so far.

"One night, dey were stayin up late, wonderin who would fall asleep foist. Dey were starin at each other, yawning to make da other sleepy. Da Flipper Boid always giggled in between and seemed to be in da lead. Know who won?"

Tourniquet smiled. "Let the penguin win!"

"Maybe….Anyhow, da Flipper Boid hoid sometin in da water and wanted to investigate. She told da albatross not to go anywhere and dat she'll be back. Always loyal, da Flying Boid went nowhere, even when it happened."

Vinnie paused, just to watch her fidget. Tourniquet scurried out from under Seifer and bounced up and down anxiously.

"What? What happened?" she asked in suspense.

"Da Flipper Boid returned wit fish for da both of dem. But she saw da Flying Boid sleepin or sometin. Smilin, she dought she won, but dat wasn't da case."

"Why not?" Tourniquet asked. The penguin character was still awake, why shouldn't she win?

"When she got closer, she noticed dat sometin wasn't right. Her friend wasn't moving, not even breathin. In disbelief, she dropped her fish and backed away from da body. There came a voice behind her."

"What did it say?" Tourniquet asked uneasily. It was rare for Vinnie to tell her scary stories…she was hooked. Most of his scary stories were based on the real thing. She could learn something.

"It said sometin like: 'You lose.' She snapped around and-!"

Vinnie immediately stopped his progress. Tourniquet rocked back and forth, impatiently waiting for the rest of it. But the skua didn't say anything.

"And what?" she asked, coming closer. The large bird casually turned his back on her, as if he had no interest to continue.

"I don't dink I should finish." He muttered. Tourniquet flinched and bounced closer.

"No! What happened?" she insisted. Vinnie suddenly turned back to her with a lunge, flaring his wings and tail.

"It got her!" he yelled. Tourniquet was startled by the action and screamed before jumping back under the protection of Seifer. The skuas laughed at her reaction.

After calming down, Tourniquet risked a look at Vinnie. "What was it?"

Vinnie shrugged. "Who knows. Its one of dem mystery dings. Dey say it was a ghost of da Flipper Boid's dead rival who came back into da livin woild in predator form to seek some kind of revenge."

"Is it true?" Tourniquet asked. Vinnie nodded in a omniscient manner.

"Yup. And who knows…maybe you or one of us might come across da ghost of someone we once knew. Whether it's good or not depends on da relationship."

The cave was filled with a haunting atmosphere as everyone considered their companions word.

"Tell another story." Tourniquet asked. Vinnie shook his head.

"Nope. Dat's enough for now."

"Besides, time for bed." Seifer told her. She nodded and yawned, falling asleep not long after. The skuas followed suite…

All except one.

* * *

This might be the last chappy before my winter/Christmas break in school. Hope you guys have a good one.

Preview:

Seifer rethinks things and the birds get an unwelcomed visitor.


	6. Visitor

Disclaimer: I don't own Happy Feet. I'm not smart enough to…

* * *

Part 3

Chapter 6

Seifer didn't sleep a wink. He pretended to in front of his friends, but never dozed off. How can he? How can he go to sleep if he knows there's a risk of not waking up again? It can't be done. Not in his book.

So his alternative is to stay awake as long as he possibly could. It was easy so far, but how many nights can he keep it up? A skua needs to fall asleep sooner or later….

He'd rather it be later.

The banded skua rustled his wings quietly. He opened one wing and preened it. However, it was already perfect from his last preening five minutes ago. With a bored sigh, Seifer furled his limb and looked around.

The seabirds had formed a tight circle to keep warm. Dino and Frankie was on each side, Vinnie sleeping across from him. Seifer's back was to the entrance.

The leader lifted his body slightly, showing Tourniquet had nuzzled further under him. The skua stared at the young penguin. He never tried to preen a penguin before. Well, he was bored enough to give it a try.

He started on the lighter down on her chest, moving on her right cheek soon after. He felt Tourniquet smile and wag her tail in her sleep.

It was like grooming a regular skua chick, but much different…considering Tourniquet tasted _delicious_.

As soon as that thought occurred, he stopped his activity, not wanting to further test his predatory instincts. He probably just needed to go outside for a bit. Get some fresh air and take his thoughts off everything, and it'll have the added benefit of giving him something to do.

Carefully, he stepped over Tourniquet and snuck for the exit. The penguin chick instantly tucked under Frankie since he was the closest source of warmth. After a few seconds of shifting, both quieted down, not waking at all.

Seifer stared at them, waiting to see if they'll wake. Tourniquet made a small chirp and Vinnie answered with a sleep filled squawk. Besides that, and Dino's slight wing stretch and change in position, all else was quiet.

The banded skua ran to the edge of the outside ledge and launched himself into flight.

Hunting might make him feel better. There was an Adelie colony nearby and they have as many eggs as the gentoos he targeted for breakfast. He was tempted, but found himself heading further out to sea.

Once the water calmed, he landed and sat on the surface. Looking down into the water, he saw a lone krill and dove for it. Too slow. It got away.

Seifer sighed, shaking the water off his wings. "Am I really gettin old?"

"Age is just a number…" a voice behind him went. Seifer practically jolted into the air before realizing that it was just the familiar Ramen. The crabeater continued. "And in your case, once you hit 11, you'll croak."

Seifer stared at the young seal. "Even you know skua lifespan. How is it dat others know, but us skuas don't?"

Ramen shrugged. "Not something a species learns about. For example, I don't know how long I'll live."

"You'll go all da way to 30 if you're lucky." Seifer informed, proving Ramen's point. The seal nodded with a smile.

"Cool." A pause. "Oh, and before I forget, were you trying to catch this?"

Ramen opened his mouth, revealing a krill lying inside. The skua reached in and took it in his beak.

"Something for your troubles." Ramen said cheerfully before going off. Seifer swallowed the krill and sighed.

" 'Age is just a number'…" Seifer recited. He closed his eyes hopelessly. "And I've been countin too long."

He heard wings and looked around. There, northwards, he could make out massive wings headed towards the inland. Even at this distance, the skua could identify the type of bird…and he didn't like it.

"Oh no…" he muttered. Hurriedly, he took off as fast as he could all the way to home base. He woke the other skuas by typically swatting them on the head with an outstretched wing.

"Hey!" Frankie yelled.

"What da…" Dino joined.

"What was dat about?" Vinnie asked.

"One of dem Giant Petrels are headed dis way!" Seifer informed. The skuas gasped. "Dis is no time to panic. Yous 3 keep watch. I'll wake Touinaquet just in case."

With a nod, they went out to the ledge and looked towards the horizon. Indeed, they could see the large seabird coming their way. Seifer nudged Tourniquet awake.

"What's happening..?" she asked sleepily, looking up at Seifer with a groggy face.

"Shh…follow me." Tourniquet got up and trailed after Seifer to the very back of the cave. The skua then sat himself over her protectively. Tourniquet poked her head free to see what's going on. Why was everyone awake?

Vinnie, Dino, and Frankie watched as the unwanted visitor drew closer. In a minute, it was overhead, circling, staring. It swooped in and landed on the ledge.

The 3 skuas backed away to give the large creature room, and also staying out of striking distance.

Tourniquet was in awe. This bird was easily twice the size of the skuas.

"Hello." The petrel greeted in a menacing voice, deeper even than Dino's. Tourniquet shuddered involuntarily. Seifer held his head low, parallel with hers, beak slightly agape as though he was hissing.

The petrel took a step closer and the trio of skuas flared their wings, spread their tails, and made threatening noises, fluffing up their feathers to increase size.

Tourniquet could tell by the smirk that the petrel accepted the challenge.

Much to the skuas dismay.

* * *

Decided to squeeze in one last chappy before the big month-long winter break, just as a lil treat before I vacation. Please review! It'll make me really happy to come back to see some reviews!

Preview:

This should be obvious. A bird fight! Who'll win and ultimately claim Tourniquet, for the better...or worse, if you know what I'm saying. Bad petrel!


	7. Skua vs Petrel

Disclaimer: I don't own Happy Feet. I'm not smart enough to…

* * *

Part 3 

Chapter 7

"Whacha doin here?" Vinnie asked. The petrel shrugged.

"Just looking for a place to live. And dinner to go with it." He grinned. "This place seems promising." From where he stood, he couldn't see Seifer or Tourniquet in the dark interior of the cave.

And the skuas would like to keep it that way.

Dino was the first to attack. He charged and collided with the larger bird, sending both themselves off the ledge. They disappeared from view for a moment before shooting up into the air, high over the top of the cliff.

Vinnie and Frankie flew after them to join Dino in the assualt. They were not about this fine piece of real estate go. And more importantly, they had to get this predator away from Tourniquet.

They were willing to risk it all to keep the penguin chick safe.

Frankie and Vinnie tried the dive-bombing technique while Dino was fighting head on. Feathers were everywhere, falling gently like snow.

The petrel barely fought back, so the skuas were confident that they can beat and drive out this intruder. That was until the petrel decided to show them who was superior. He gave Vinnie a swat with a powerful blow of his wing.

The golden skua was sent crashing down. He let out a loud squawk as he bounced off the ground once, twice...He didn't move, laying there on his front, beak agape, gasping for air.

"Vinnie!" Frankie and Dino yelled. They only got a painful squawk. They glared at the petrel, who was laughing silently to himself.

Frankie charged. The petrel struck out, but the other seabird dodged. Dino came in and clamped his beak on the enemy's. As they grappled a bit, Frankie collided into the petrel's back. Dino watched as the two fell.

The petrel reached behind and grabbed Frankie's beak. He pulled the skua off of him. Then, when it seemed that they would crash, the petrel threw Frankie under him and kicked out. By the force of the blow, Frankie landed on his back hard enough for the ice to crack slightly.

Dino stared at his two pals in disbelief. Both were injured and unconcious.

"2 down. Just 1 more to go." the petrel muttered, turning his attention to Dino. The dark colored skua returned the look.

"Beatin me won't be so easy." Dino said, puffing up to his maximum size. The petrel wasn't impressed. He just kept that stupid grin. Dino was determined to wipe it off that face.

"I'm assuming that you're the leader of this little flock. Am I correct?" the petrel asked. Dino couldn't help but smirk at the question.

"Who's to know?" The petrel chuckled.

"Well, I'm about to find out." With that, the larger bird charged.

---

Tourniquet was more than a little scared. She shivered like she never shivered before. Seifer tried to comfort her with some preening, but she only started to cry.

"It'll be okay. Everytin is under control." Seifer reassured. Tourniquet wiped at her tears and looked up at her protector.

"What's that big thingy?" she asked through hiccups.

"It's sometin called a giant petrel. Sometin bad dat you should avoid." he answered quietly. Tourniquet nodded, still shivering.

"What does it want?" she continued to question. Seifer hesitated.

"Nuttin good..."

Suddenly a black bird fell hard in the ledge. Even though she couldn't see his face, Tourniquet knew exactly who it was.

"Dino!" she exclaimed, running towards the fallen skua. Seifer tried to stop her by grabbing at her with his beak, but she was already out of reach.

"Touinaquet! No!" he yelled, hoping she'll listen. But the penguin chick payed no heed.

"Dino! You okay?" she asked. No response...except-

"Well well well. Now look what we have here. Ain't this a surprise." Tourniquet snapped around to see the petrel staring down at her. He stepped closer and Tourniquet rushed forward and bit his leg. The bird jerked.

"Go away!" she yelled defiantly. He glared at her, no longer grinning.

"You bit me, you little..." He cut himself short and slapped Tourniquet with a wing. The chick fell on her face with a yelp. "I'm guessing that you're the reason why these skuas are so protective. I'm not sure why."

The petrel bent over her.

"Your certainly not a skua chick. Your something even more tasty." He opened his sharp-edged beak, but fell forward as he was suddenly pulled backwards.

Seifer climbed over the petrel, snatched Tourniquet, and retreated to the cave. He let Tourniquet go and, as the chick hid in the back, displayed aggressively.

The petrel stood up and studied his new opponent. "Who are you?" And he couldn't resist. "What's that yellow thing on your leg?"

"I'm Seifer. I run ding round here. As for da band, it's none of your business." The petrel gave him a sideways glance.

"So... your the leader of the flock. Mind telling me why your protecting this chick like she's your own?"

"A newbie huh? Well, to help clear dings up, we watch dis chick because she's da future for any species." he told the larger bird.

"Why say that? She's a penguin. Food even for you." the petrel said, a note of contempt in his voice.

"Then you don't know Rojas?" Seifer asked. The petrel took a step closer to him.

"Nope. Never heard of him." he answered as Seifer scooted backwards a pace, trying to keep the distance between the constant.

"He practically rules Antarctica. Da chick belongs to him. We protect her." he told the other bird. At that point, Frankie and Vinnie, who had just recovered, fluttered down awkwardly beside their leader. Dino was starting to get back up with a soft groan.

The petrel looked at each of them, shifting his weight from foot to foot as he evaluated the situation. When he challenged the skuas, he thought that they were a trio. Now they were joined by a skua slightly larger than themselves.

In other words, he was not sure if he could take on all four of them.

The skuas seemed to pick up on his nervousness. Grinning as this new dicovery gave them more courage, they quickly and without hesitation, ganged up on the larger bird.

The petrel threw his wings up protectively, swatting at his rivals. Seifer ducked under his strike and charged, colliding with the petrel and pushing him ever closer to the edge. The other seabird pecked brutally three times and clamped his beak across Seifer's back in response.

Dino, Vinnie, and Frankie instantly jumped upon the giant, plucking at his wing feathers and succeeding in freeing their leader. Finding himself out of the avian's grasp, Seifer tried for one more tackle.

His three companions fell off the petrel with a flutter as both their leader and their enemy were sent over the cliff. They looked over the edge.

Seifer was riding on the back of the petrel as they fell, plucking off more of the struggling bird's flight feathers. Then, frowning, he said:

"Dis is what you get when messin wit us." before spreading his own wings and gliding off. The giant tried to fly too, but found that there wasn't enough wing mass to hold him aloft. Helpless, he crashed into the violent water below.

Seifer relanded amongst his friends, and looked towards the swell lashing at the cliff side. They hoped that stupid bird will never surface again.

Seifer led the others back to Tourniquet, who was hiding in a tight crevice at the back of the cave. This way if the petrel had managed to get in, he wouldn't find her or reach her.

The birds bent over painfully and looked in at the chick. Her back was to them, but she must have sensed someone's presence, for she was quick to defend herself.

"Go away! I know how to peck!" she said. Despite the pain they were in, the skuas smiled.

"Touinaquet. It's alright. It's us." Seifer reassured. Almost instantly, the chick backed out of her hiding place. She climbed onto the brown skua, though he winced as she did.

"I wanna go home now." she said. Looking at the sunrise, the skuas nodded.

"Yeah. Let's go."

They flew off towards the true safety of the beach.

* * *

I'm back! Anywho, thanks for reviewing guys! I wuv you very much! . 

Preview:

Tourniquet finds out the truth...which could be bad news for everyone.


	8. Truth of the Matter

Disclaimer: I don't own Happy Feet. I'm not smart enough to…

* * *

Part 3 

Chapter 8

Rojas was surprised by the condition of the skuas when they returned. Frankie, Dino, and Vinnie practically collapsed on the ground, baring bloodied wounds. Seifer managed to stay on his feet, obviously less injured of the three.

Tourniquet slid off her bird and ran up to Rojas in paniced speed. To help comfort the frightened chick, he nuzzled her and licked her face.

"What happened?" the seal then asked Seifer, who sat down before laying his head on the ground in exhaustion and pain.

"Giant petrel..." was all he muttered. Tourniquet picked up the slack.

"A big birdie came and attacked us. Then he hit me weally weally hard." she said. Rojas couldn't contain a growl. How dare a petrel even layed a feather on Tourniquet. Once he finds the bird, he'll rip it to shreds.

Tourniquet continued.

"But then, but then...uh...they knocked him off the cliffy." she finished with a smile. Rojas smiled back and nuzzled her again.

"Go and play. I need to talk to these skuas." Rojas said. Tourniquet paused before running off towards the chinstraps.

The skuas were quite nervous as Rojas went closer. They were weak and vulnerable. And completely at the mercy of this huge predator.

"A giant petrel, huh?" Rojas questioned. The skuas nodded. "What did he want?"

"Our territory. And Touinaquet for dinner." Seifer answered.

"So..." the seal prodded.

"We plucked off his flight feathers and knocked him into da sea."

Rojas grunted as he paused right in front of them. They tensed, expecting Rojas to lunge at them with jaws wide open. However it was just the opposite. He began to lick their wounds alternatively.

It was both weird and soothing at the same time. They liked it.

---

Tourniquet was playing with her friend, Oskay, a chinstrap chick. They were chasing each other in and out of the colony, laughing. Until Tourniquet thought she heard something in the water near the evening.

"Mommy?" she questioned to herself, climbing a large rock and staring out to sea.

"Why we stop?" Oskay asked as she stopped beside the rock, looking up at her best friend. Tourniquet smiled, searching the calm surface.

"I think Mommy came home. I saw her...I'm sury of it this time."

Oskay looked worriedly at Tourniquet and the water. "Tourni...there's something you should know." she started. The emperor chick looked at her friend.

"What is it?"

"My mom said that your mom...isn't coming back."

Tourniquet was speechless at first. Then she swallowed. "W-what?"

"There's alot of wumors around here...fwom chick to chick. I'm not sure how much is twue but evewyone said that...well...that Rojas killed her. That's why she's not here."

Tourniquet started to shake. Oskay climbed up the rock to comfort her, but Tourniquet climbed back down, obviously avoiding her friend.

"You lie..." she muttered. Oskay shook her head. Tourniquet paused. "And you never told me before?"

"I don't want to make you sad. Nobody does."

"Make me sad? Well...how happy do you think I am now?" Tourniquet said before running off. It was getting dark anyways.

---

The skuas were already gone, having their wounds licked and cleaned thoroughly. Now they were hungry and allowed their hunting instincts to take over.

Rojas was on the beach half in and out of the water, waiting for Tourniquet. When she finally came, the down on her face was matted with tears. She was crying and sniffling.

"What's wrong?" he asked. She stopped in her tracks, keeping her distance, eyes all watery. Rojas cocked his head in confusion. Why won't Tourniquet come over and snuggle to him like she always did when she was sad?

"Is it true?" she asked. "Did you kill Mommy?"

Rojas was stunned. How did she figure out about her mother's death? He wanted to say that of course he didn't kill her, but couldn't choke it out. He felt like he had no air left.

Tourniquet got the wrong idea about his answer and shook her head. "Why didn't you tell me? Instead of lying to me all this time..."

Rojas didn't even have time to think of an answer. Tourniquet ran off.

At the chinstrap colony, she ran right into the foursome of skuas, Vinnie to be exact. The surprised seabirds fluttered straight up into the air, half expecting it to be an adult penguin making a show of contempt. Tourniquet saw that they were eating a chick. Though the chick wasn't anyone that she knew, she felt as though it was a loved one they were in the middle of devouring.

The skuas watched as she stared at them with tear filled eyes and then she ran into the darkness again.

Nervous and feeling guilty for some reason, the predators shifted their weight from one foot to another.

"All of a sudden, I'm not very hungry anymore." Seifer muttered. The other three nodded in agreement.

* * *

I felt kind of sad typing this, but then again, I'm easily emotional sometimes. Please remember to review! I bit short, but I was revising the chapter a bit differently than the way I originally set it. It's better than nothing, right?

Preview:

The skuas go out to search for Tourniquet, who meets a mysterious stranger.


	9. Mystery Stranger

Disclaimer: I don't own nothing in this chappy......except of course Tourniquet...She's mine! All mine!! Rawr!

* * *

Part 3

Chapter 9

The skuas listlessly returned to the beach. They had a rough night and it had little to do with their injuries. They spotted Rojas lying unmoving on the beach and they swooped in for a landing. The leopard seal was silent for a moment before muttering.

"Tourniquet's not here."

The skuas glanced at each other and shifted their weight a bit before Seifer responded.

"We saw her last night. We dought she went back to ya."

Rojas just muttered again. "She ran away from me." He opened his eyes and the skuas were surprised to see them a bit on the watered side. They never knew leopard seals could cry. Being top predator, there really isn't much to cry about.

They stayed still, not sure how to react. Vinnie was about to speak when Rojas continued.

"I want you to go and find her and bring her back to me." His voice was no longer a mutter.

The skuas nodded and took to the air. They knew a penguin chick won't last very long on its own, so this was now a race against time. The leopard seal watched them go until they could no longer be seen. He sighed and laid his head on the ground, knowing all he can do is wait.

---

Tourniquet sniffled as she wandered aimlessly across an empty expanse of ice. She didn't know where she was going and in her heart, she didn't care. All she knew was that she'll never see her Mommy again. Why did this have to happen to her?

She wiped away her tears with a flipper and for the first time in a while, she looked about. No reaction came to her being lost and she just continued on her way, muttering softly to herself. "I want my Mommy.....Mommy, why you have to go....?"

"Your mother hasn't completely left you." Tourniquet jumped at the voice and snapped around to see a Flying Bird she's never seen before. But she calmed; maybe because this bird was only half the size of the skuas she knew, or maybe it was the pure white feathers and gentle black eyes. Whatever it was, she didn't feel afraid.

"Who are you?" she asked through her still running tears and hiccups. The bird smiled.

"I can't tell you, sweetie." Her voice sounded vaguely familiar, though Tourniquet was sure she's never heard it before. It sounded almost like.... "But I'll give you a hint: I'm a snow petrel; we're known as Angels of the Antarctic for a reason."

"Wha...?" Tourniquet mutter in confusion. She didn't pull away when the petrel wrapped her wings around her in a close hug.

"You'll understand someday. My time here is limited, as I have to leave somewhere soon, but know your mother will always be with you in some way or another."

Tourniquet nodded softly, closing her eyes and snuggling into the somehow cool body of the grown up bird. She felt safe and maybe even a little better. She listened as the petrel continued with a soft, whispered song.

"Rest in me and I'll comfort you.  
I have lived and I died for you.  
Abide in me and I vow to you...  
I will never forsake you..."

Tourniquet opened her eyes to ask more questions but to her surprise the bird was gone. In confusion, she looked around the ground and the sky. Nothing, but... She picked up a feather where the petrel once stood. She knew instinctively it was a penguin feather, a tail feather awfully familiar. Hugging it and feeling more tears welling up, she knew she was on her own again.

---

"How we ever gon' find Touinaquet? She could be anywhere!" Vinnie asked as they soared high in the sky, keeping a sharp eye on the ground below.

"Dunno. But Rojas sent us and we ain't goin back till we find her." Seifer told them. There was a pause.

"Ya know, dis was da foist time I ever seen a leopard seal with tears in da eyes." Frankie muttered. The other nodded, they couldn't get over it. It scared them a bit. Sadness can do strange things, and for a vicious carnivore, those things might spell doom for all those around.

"Dat's why we HAVE to find her... And we have to do dat BEFORE sometin else does." Seifer told them. The skuas instinctively shuddered a bit at the thought of another Giant Petrel. That would be very bad indeed.

They continued flying for a while and it seemed as though nothing was coming out of it. They were on the verge of losing hope when...

"Look, footprints." Dino pointed out with a wing. The other skuas looked down at the ground and came in for as best a landing they can manage. They leaned down to inspect the foot prints closely.

"Definitely a Flipper Boid." Vinnie claimed. Seifer nodded.

"A chick by da looks of it." He looked about and started walking. "Dis way."

The others followed, allowing their aching wings to rest. It's amazing they even went this far. They only hoped they were on the right track.

---

This looked like a good place to spend the night.

Tourniquet peeked into a strange object that could be a mini cave made out of something she's never seen before. Inside, it was filled with fish and kelp. She looked around for another moment, instinctively wondering if someone already lived here.

There were more of these strange mini caves, some standing upright so their entrances faced the sky, others turned on their sides like her mini cave. A big glacier thing was nearby and it looked to be made out of equally weird things. But she didn't want to figure it out like she usually would. That spark to explore the unknown was gone.

She went inside the mini cave of kelp and fish and huddled herself in a corner, crying herself to sleep as she hugged the feather she held.

It was going to be a long night.

* * *

Been a very long time since I added a chapter. I tried to keep to my traditional writing style as much as possible and I hope it's good enough. This is for all those who patiently waited and resparked the will for me to continue this story! Cheers!!

Preview:

The skuas find Tourniquet, but things can quickly take a turn for the worse when the aliens return!


	10. Tensions Rise

Disclaimer: I don't own nothing in this chappy...except of course Tourniquet...She's mine! All mine! Rawr!

* * *

Part 3

Chapter 10

"If this Flipper Boid ain't Touinaquet, I'm killin it." Dino grumbled under his breath as they continued to follow the footprints in the snowy ground. Hearing those words, Siefer rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, like da last time we had Flipper Boid, it toined out so well." he replied sarcastically. Dino gave a slight smirk.

"I said I'd kill it, not eat it. Dere's a difference."

"Well," Vinni started. "After what happened last night, I don't dink I'll ever be able to eat another Flipper Boid again." This got a few nods of agreement from the other birds and silence fell on the group as they continued on, thinking about the night before. About Tourniquet's big sad eyes looking at them in horror after catching them eating that chick. It broke their hearts, to be honest.

What if the reason she ran away was because of them?

"Hey." Frankie said, lifting his head upon spying something. "I think da footprints leads towards dose dings!"

Spotting the strange looking stuctures, the skuas took off and fluttered towards them. Indeed the footprints led right into one and the Flying Birds landed around the entrance, peeking in. There was lots of kelp and fish and...

"Touinaquet." All four bird relaxed instantly upon seeing the little Emperor chick. Tourniquet barely shifted at the sound of her name, but she did respond.

"Go away..." she muttered softly. It was clear by her shaky voice that she was starting to cry again. Pausing, the skuas went inside the strange cave, approaching her slowly.

"Touinaquet. Listen. We have to go back home now." Seifer said with great gentleness, reaching out a wing to touch her. But the chick jerked away, still not facing them.

"Go away!" she repeated much more firmly and much more loudly.

"No. We need to bring you home. Da boss is very worried bout ya."

"No he's not!" The skuas jerked as the chick practically screamed out her words, turning to face them angrily. They've never seen her so mad before. "He doesn't like me no more! He killed Mommy!"

The gang was just as surprised and shocked as Rojas was when she made her words of accusation. And like that previous situation, the chick gave them no time to properly react as she rushed at them with quite an...unusual request.

"Mommy's gone now! So eat me!"

She's finally lost it. The skuas stared at her with wide eyes, not knowing what to do or how to calm her down. Tourniquet wasn't backing down and rushed straight for Dino.

"I said eat me!" She started hitting Dino uselessly with her flippers, not causing any harm and only adding to the confusion. "I want you to eated me!"

She wasn't thinking clearly, if she was thinking at all. Dino simply froze, knowing the chick was trying to anger him into fulfilling her wish. Backing up, he glanced at his companions for a second before looking back at Tourniquet, who continued to hit him pitifully.

"Stop it, kid! Your not helpin!" Dino told her as Seifer moved forward and tried to pulled the penguin away. But the chick was still upset and yanked herself away, making one last ditch effort by biting Dino's leg as hard as she could.

The skua jumped before finally giving in to his irritation and giving the chick a hard swat with his wing, causing the chick to yelp and fall on her face.

"Dino!" Seifer immediately reprimanded, glaring at the other skua, who glared right back.

"'Dino', nuttin! Dat lil brat got what she deserved!" He shifted his glare to the fallen chick, muttering with venom. "Stupid Flipper Boid..."

Tensions were high as it was, and it wasn't getting better as Seifer charged the other skua and bit him in reprimand. However, Dino didn't feel like being passive as usual and returned the bite. Needless to say, the two birds began fighting viciously in no time. Frankie stayed out of it, not wanting to be a part of the conflict, and Vinni immediately went to Tourniquet.

"You alright?" he asked. Tourniquet began to sniffle and cry, not bothering to get up. Vinni began his reassurances by settling gently over her and leaning down to preen her, trying to ignore the struggling and hissing from the feuding birds.

"I want my mommy back... Why'd he take her?" the chick responded between her sobs and hiccups. Vinni hesitated, trying to think of the right words to say.

"It'll be alright kid. And listen...Look at me, lil one." Hesitantly, the chick peeked up at him, face matted and eyes still flowing with tears. "Whatever you hoid and whatever ya dink, Rojas didn't kill your mommy."

"B-but...But Oskay said her mommy..." She cut herself off when Vinni shook his head.

"Rumors, kid. Don't believe 'em. I was dere. Frankie, Seifer, and Dino was dere. We saw what happened to your mom. Trust me, Rojas was tryin to save Whisper, not tryin to kill hers." Deciding to come clean with the truth, he continued gently. "Your mom was coming back home when a bunch of orcas tried to eat her. We all tried to save her, but..." Closing his eyes, Vinni turned his head away from the confused and distressed chick. "We didn't wanna tell you. Your much too young, kid... Everyone just wants ya to have a happy life..."

"S-so... he didn't kill mommy?" she asked. Vinni nodded. With another sniffle, she continued. "And...he won't kill me?"

This earned a soft, reassuring chuckle from the golden skua. "He won't. I don't dink he'll kill a helpless lil chick, and certainly not you. I promise."

Silence, or as much silence as it could get with the squabbling duo nearby. Tourniquet said nothing, still sniffling and wiping her tears away before nodding softly in understanding. Vinni nodded back and the two turned their attention to the others.

"Why they fighting?" Tourniquet asked, voice still shaky. She didn't seem to remember her previous outburst. Vinni gave a half-hearted smile.

"We all know Dino's got anger problems."

Finally, the fight came to an end when Seifer's beak managed to firmly grip onto Dino's and forced him to the ground, refusing to let go no matter how the other bird struggled. After a full moment of being buffeted by his superior's wings, Dino stopped moving in defeat, grumbling as soon as his beak was freed. Seifer gave one last glare to make sure the other bird stayed down before walking off towards Vinni and Tourniquet.

"It's gettin late. Touinaquet..." He looked down to the chick, noting that her tears had stopped, at least for now.

"I wanna go home now." She muttered softly. Seifer nodded before glancing towards the entrance. It was dark.

"We'll leave in da morning. This'll have to do to shelter us for da night." Settling down, the lead skua allowed the chick to shift under him, freeing Vinni to move and sit next to Frankie. The golden skua knew Dino had a habit of snapping at Frankie whenever he lost a fight and so was ready to protect his companion. Luckily, Dino stayed where he was, nursing his feathers and his pride.

Everyone was utterly exhausted and it wasn't long before most of them was deep asleep. Except Seifer, of course. He was still too stubborn to risk not waking up in the morning. After giving Tourniquet one more reassuring preen, completely ignoring his feeble hunting instincts this time, he walked out the strange cave to help stay alert.

The snow was very fresh here and he began snow-bathing, shaking the powder into his coat and rolling about in it. It was cold and very soothing to his injuries.

Suddenly, he felt like he was being watched. Seifer frowned and sensed its gaze behind him. His feathers stood on end. Was it another Giant Petrel? Or something much worse? Cautiously, he looked and almost sighed in relief. It was just a puny snow petrel. No threat here.

But his relief soon turned to anger. How dare this bird, this prey item snuck up on him like that! Unintentional or not, it wasn't going to be spared.

"C'mere!" Seifer exclaimed and charged at the smaller seabird. It would be rather refreshing for him to clamp his beak on its neck and hear it beg for mercy. But just as he was upon his target, he felt an unnatural chill and stumbled right through the other bird.

Beak open and gasping in disbelief, he looked at the snow petrel with wide eyes.

"What da... How...?" he studdered. The petrel calmly turned to look at him.

"How what?" it, she, asked, cocking her head. Seifer studied her intently. She appeared normal, solid, feathery. He reached out a wing and touched the top of her head. She was as real as anything he's ever known.

Folding his wings, Seifer studied the bird again before he made another charge, more carefully this time. He felt the chill as he passed right through her.

He stared. "Your some kind of..._ghost_."

The petrel smiled and ruffled her feathers. "I guess I am."

"Can't be killed a second time..." Seifer muttered. "Who are ya?"

The petrel merely closed her eyes and began to fade. "I have to go now..."

"Hey!" Seifer whispered angrily, trying not to yell and wake the others. The petrel was still fading, but her head jerked up in alarm as if she sensed something.

Seifer looked in the same direction and gasped. Aliens! All too familiar aliens. Coming in some machine. Coming fast.

Seifer jerked his gaze back to the petrel only to find her completely gone, no imprints in the snow or anything. No time to question it! He rushed back into the strange cave. "Wake up!"

The others opened their eyes groggily.

"We have to get outta here!" the banded skua yelled.

"Right now?" Vinni asked sleepily.

"Yes, now! No time to lose!" Seifer answered, nudging Tourniquet awake.

"Why?" Frankie asked. He got his answer sooner than he thought. Some kind of cover closed the entrance and there was the sound of machinery.

They were trapped...

* * *

Just saw Happy Feet 2 today! It was AWESOME and has given me even more inspiration to continue! I'm just gonna let ya know that the movie won't have much, if any effect on the progress of this story! I'm gonna continue just as I originally planned it! Whooooo!

Preview:

The group tries to survive in their prison.


End file.
